The Department of Chemistry offers work leading to the Master of Science
degree through either a thesis plan or an applied plan (see degree requirements).
The program is designed to prepare graduate students for continuation
to the Ph.D. or other professional training, or for immediate employment
in advanced positions in government, industry, or education. Through thesis
and internship options, the program accommodates individual career objectives
for those with degrees in chemistry and allied fields and allows those
with minors in chemistry to pursue advanced work and placement in the
field. The department also provides inservice training to chemists and
chemical educators who are not candidates for the M.S. degree.

Admission Requirements

Students selecting chemistry as a graduate major are expected to have
completed 32 semester hours of undergraduate work in the areas of general,
organic, analytical, inorganic, and physical chemistry. With the permission
of the department, students with at least an undergraduate minor in chemistry
may be accepted into the program. Students without one year of physical
chemistry shall be required to take this course as part of their graduate
program.

Degree Requirements

General Requirements

Diagnostic examinations in the fields of analytical chemistry, biochemistry,
inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry are administered at the time
that the student registers for graduate work in chemistry. The Graduate
Committee may require students to remedy deficiencies in their undergraduate
preparation on the basis of the diagnostic examinations.

A minimum of twelve semester hours of chemistry must be at the 500
level.

A maximum of nine semester hours may be transferred from another
institution. Such transfer credit will require the approval of the Departmental
Graduate Committee.

Applied Chemistry

This plan is designed for those interested in graduate training for
careers in specific areas such as pollution control, forensic chemistry,
agricultural chemistry, chemical production, energy, and material resources
utilization. An integral part of this program is an internship whereby
the student will spend one semester at a cooperating industrial or government
laboratory. The Graduate Committee requires students to submit an internship
report and present an oral defense, following the internship.

Those students in applied chemistry who are interested in teaching at
the secondary or two-year college level are advised to have satisfied
the academic requirements for teacher certification. The internship for
these students will be spent at WIU on special projects within the general
chemistry program. Eight semester hours of work in education may be taken,
and as many as five semester hours of CHEM 575-579 may be counted toward
the degree.

Students may elect a minimum of eight hours of study in cognate fields
as approved by the Departmental Graduate Committee, to compliment their
program. Cognate fields, which students in the applied chemistry plan
might consider, include (but are not limited to)
agriculture, biological sciences, computer sciences, law enforcement,
or geology.

This plan is available for those students who wish to continue their
professional training with graduate work emphasizing research.

Students may elect a minimum of eight hours of study in cognate fields
as approved by the Departmental Graduate Committee, to complement their
program. Cognate fields, which students in the thesis plan might consider,
include physics, biological sciences, mathematics, or computer science.

CHEM 580 Seminar: 2 s.h.

CHEM 600 Research: 12-18 s.h.

CHEM 601 Thesis: 3 s.h.

Directed Electives: 15 s.h.TOTAL PROGRAM: 32 s.h.

An oral examination covering the thesis work will be given following
the completion of the thesis.

421G Biochemistry. (4) The chemistry of major cellular
constituents and their metabolism. (Three lectures and one three-hour
laboratory per week.) Prerequisite: CHEM 330 or CHEM 332.

429G Biochemistry Topics. (1–5) Advanced topics
in biochemistry arranged in one- or two-credit hour blocks to accommodate
special interests. Students may take one or any combination of the special
topics offered in a given semester. Prerequisite: CHEM 421.

442G Analytical Chemistry. (5) Theory and practice of
analytical chemistry with emphasis on selected instrumental techniques.
(Three lectures and two three-hour laboratories per week.) Prerequisites:
CHEM 341 and one semester of physical chemistry.

453G Advanced Chemical Synthesis. (3) A laboratory-oriented
course dealing with synthesis utilizing sophisticated procedures, including
methods used to isolate, purify, and characterize the products. (One lecture
and two three-hour laboratories per week.) Prerequisites: CHEM 333
or permission of the instructor.

500 Special Topics. (1–4, repeatable to 8) Lectures
on topics of current interest which may be supplemented by outside speakers
or audio tutorial material from the American Chemical Society.

542 Environmental Chemistry. (4) Selected studies of
sources, reactions, transport effects, and fates of chemical species in
the water, soil, and air environments; and the applications of current
analytical techniques to the analysis of selected samples. Prerequisite:
CHEM 442.

550 Summer Workshop for High School Chemistry Teachers I. (2,
repeatable) A course designed to meet the special needs of high
school chemistry teachers, offered in consultation with the local school
districts. Sections for the workshops may have different subtitles and
the format will vary depending on the topics chosen each year. Prerequisites:
Graduate standing and permission of the instructor.

551 Summer Workshop for High School Chemistry Teachers II. (2,
repeatable) A continuation of CHEM 550.

552 Summer Workshop for High School Chemistry Teachers III. (2,
repeatable) A continuation of CHEM 551.

553 Summer Workshop for High School Chemistry Teachers IV. (2,
repeatable) A continuation of CHEM 552.

554 Summer Workshop for High School Chemistry Teachers V. (2,
repeatable) A continuation of CHEM 553.

580 Seminar. (1) Repeatable.

590 Internship. (2–10, repeatable to 10) Internship
experience in cooperating industrial laboratory, government laboratory,
or chemical educational program at WIU. Prerequisite: Permission of
the instructor to enroll.

591 Internship Report. (2) An oral and written report
of the internship experience.